Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

Salute!

This topic has made me think of a slightly related topic (related to the Hundred Days).

This past Christmas one of my brothers (who works in a great book store called Powell's Books in Portland, Ore - can find them on-line, 'nuff of a plug for them), gave me a fantastic little booklet.

It was obviously very old, a rustic red cover, with the writing: BATTLE OF WATERLOO, and upon opening it an intricately detailed map of the battlefield unfolds.

Shows the situation at sunset, with the dispositions of the various Brig's and Regt's for all the forces, and an index on both sides of the map gives an account of the battle.

The publisher was LT Hoffmann, a company in Brussels, Belgium.
The only other information listed appears to be: Drawn for Cotton's Voice from Waterloo, and a smudgy date that might read 1816 or 1826...

In faded pencil on the back of one of the folding map sections is written: 7-16-1886 initials?
and below that: 10-13-1896 initials?

Anyways, pretty cool.

Regards,

Nice, animated Rat!

Everything associated with Bonaparte involves propaganda. I can both envision him actually making the statement for effect, and also embellishing the incident after the event. I don't really know how you could conclusively confirm it either way. My guess is that the incident was generally true, but that the exact wording may have been modified for effect.

History is always subjectively recorded, no matter how objective the writer intends to be. It is more a matter of a consciousness contained in an independent body. This forces different perceptions of a shared event. Add to this the fact that it is not immediately recorded, and you greatly increase the disparity of the recollection.

So what you are saying Mark, is that it could also be that as he sheepishly moved forward toward the 5th, he flung open his great coat and said, "Please, I beg of you don't shoot! I bruise easily! Take my wallet, my watch, whatever is in these coat pockets." But the 5th, due to a lack of consistent training and supplies, had not loaded their muskets so were unable to fire. So the 5th commander said, " Oh what the Hell, what have we got to lose. Let's join them lads!"

Mark, you are certainly taking liberties with your sense of history ...

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Major General Richard Bradshaw, 1st Viscount of Manchester

Lloyd's Battery, Royal Artillery
Royal Regiment of Artillery
Reserve Artillery & Engineers

Very funny!!! Thanks!

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Général David Guegan

3ème Régiment de Grenadiers - Bataillon d'élite du 3ème Légère
2ème Brigade
Grenadiers de la Réserve
Réserve
La Grande Armée
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"From the sublime to the ridiculous is but a step."
Napoléon Bonaparte

Military justice is to justice what military music is to music.
Groucho Marx

Well,yes Coronel Bradshaw, that is exactly what I am saying. It seems more fitting with the true nature of all things French, does it not? A deep understanding of human nature is essential to obtaining a more accurate perspective of historical events.